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Apple Updates iBook Line With G4 Processor
Kyro writes "Apple today upgraded their iBook notebook range across the board to G4 processors, Airport Extreme, bluetooth, USB 2.0, and slot-loading combo drives. All models ship with Mac OS X 10.3, and the 12" model gets a 800Mhz G4 while the 14" models get a choice of 933Mhz or 1Ghz. Prices largely remain the same as the old G3 versions." Mwongozi adds "Although not announced on the front page, the Apple Store was updated just a few minutes ago to show the new iBook."
dont forget if you are going to order one of these, to get your student discount!
it takes the $1099 12inch ibook down to $949. Hey thats 1/2 an ipod!:)
Just got myself a 12' PowerBook, oh well :-) Today I'd be hard pressed to choose -- one big plus on the PB is the *digital* video out, which lets you attach a Studio display. The new iBooks are discounted $100 at my University's edu store, versus $200 on the PBs. Specs and Euro prices from Macbidouille:
- 12" / 800MHz
PowerPC G4 a 800 MHz
256 Ko de cache N2 (a 800 MHz)
Ecran TFT 12" (1024 x 768)
256 Mo DDR266 / 30 Go
Lecteur combo DVD/CD-RW
ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 (32 Mo VRAM)
1.199 euros
- 14" / 933MHz
PowerPC G4 a 933 MHz
256 Ko de cache N2 (a 933 MHz)
Ecran TFT 14" (1024 x 768)
256 Mo DDR266 / 40 Go
Lecteur combo DVD/CD-RW
ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 (32 Mo VRAM)
1449 euros
- 14" / 1GHz
PowerPC G4 a 1 GHz
256 Ko de cache N2 (a 1 GHz)
Ecran TFT 14" (1024 x 768)
256 Mo DDR266 / 60 Go
Lecteur combo DVD/CD-RW
ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 (32 Mo VRAM)
1699 euros
remember 15" widescreen is not the same as 14" at 4:3 ration, but you are quite right regarding the premium.
Here's why the 12" powerbook is more expensive and why someone might choose it over the 12" iBook: BTO SuperDrive bigger hard drive faster processor higher maximum RAM bigger L2 cache slightly lighter extended desktop video (rather than simple mirroring) DVI port rather than VGA port If those are features you want/need, then the markup would be worth it. But the new iBooks are clearly very attractive and well-priced alternatives.
I just checked out the specs, and with the exception of the 12" model, the G4 PowerBooks all have a 167Mhz bus, and 512K of backside cache.
The G4 iBooks have only a 133Mhz bus and 256K of backside cache.
The faster buses and larger caches in the PowerBooks are going to keep them running faster than the new iBooks in real-world tasks, even if the CPU speed is the same.
-Mark
I honestly do not find the iBooks--at least the 12.1" versions--to be that large. They are a bit thicker than competition, but they also can take a tremendous beating. I have dropped my current iBook three times, and my previous one four or five, and neither was hurt at all. (What finally did my old iBook in was actually when idiot moving people dropped a 100 pound crate on it, which cracked the LCD. I currently use it as my home server.) By comparison, I have heard stories from my friends of when they drop their IBM and Sony laptops and they shatter badly. Yes, this is anecdotal, but If we're talking only about a pound difference weight-wise for the extra stability then it's certainly worth it to me.
These aren't the same G4 chips you're used to in Powerbooks, they're IBM manufactured "PPC 750GX". Yes, that's a G3 with AltiVec.
Previous PPC750s (the fx and so on) were called G3s. Add an AltiVec unit to it and Apple call it a G4
Remember Apple's marketing is perfectly justified in calling a chip anything it likes, and it looks to be using AltiVec as the demarcation between G3 and G4, rather than the rest of the core. It's still a PPC750 in these new iBooks however.
This is a necessary move for Apple to reclaim some market share.
I'm only going to say this once.
Nobody gives a damn about Apple's share of the entire computer market. Does anybody care about Mercedes's share of the entire automotive industry? Of course not.
Apple, like any company, has target market segments. First-time home computer buyers in upper-middle-income brackets; first-time laptop buyers in same; students; teachers; creative professionals; science and technical users. Among these market segments, Apple's share is just fine, thanks.
Apple doesn't sell well to people who already own computers and who make under $75,000 per year per household. So freakin' what? That's not their target market. Just like Mercedes doesn't sell well to single people under the age of 25.
Now that you've been educated, kindly slink back under your bridge, you troll.
It is just curious to see that Apple is not using the latest MPC7447 G4s (those found inside the newest Powerbooks) but the oldest MPC7445 , which include only 256K cache and generate more heat as they are produced with an 0.18 u technology (as opposed to the 0.13 u of the 47s)
The only reason I could see is, apart from differentating the models in terms of cache size, the future transition to G5 in the Powerbooks and G4-7447s in the iBooks.
The PB line has:
Availability of superdrive
Max 1.25 GB RAM, compared to 640 MB on ibook
Built-in bluetooth
512 K L2 cache, compared to 256 K for ibook
Mini-DVI out, not Mini-SVGA out
Allows for monitor spanning, not just mirroring
The 15" and 17" models also have gigabit ethernet, FW800, widescreen aspect ratio, and backlit keyboards...
Of course, it's up to you to decide if these features are worth it or not.
If you want to buy one of these, it might be a good idea to go to the unleashing of Panther this Friday at an Apple Store! When Jaguar came out, it was what, 10% off everything in the store?
I know! I mean, this company is a flock of ravenous vultures... just forcing those people who just bought their brand new Power Macs only 6 f**king years ago to upgrade, just to run the latest OS! I mean, if Microsoft ever dropped support for my 90MHz Pentium in Longhorn, I'd be so ticked, I'd have to slit my own wrists and cry, on my bed, in the dark.
I was going to get an Audi TT then I found out I could get a
Kia Rio for less than 10 grand! They both go 75mph which is as
fast as you can go anywhere anyway. Audi is charging over
3 times as much!
Audi, as a quality automobile company, is dying.
If you bought it within the last 30 days, you'll get some money back if you ask. I bought a G4 desktop 5 days before the G5 was released, and I got $700 back from Apple. That's why I usually buy hardware from the Apple Store directly...you get perks like that. Either way, it's worth a call...
My
My first reaction was "great, the iBook is the same as the PowerBook I bought a few months ago". After a few minutes digging, though, there are some real differences, though they're subtle. So Apple managed to give the core benefits of the PB to the iBook at a somewhat lower price, which is a good thing, even if it does reduce the product differentiation a bit.
:-)
The differences I can see are:
- Bluetooth is extra (an internal module, like AirPort).
- No SuperDrive option. This is a big deal to me -- I do backups on DVD-R's (you don't want to back 60 GB onto CD-R's!).
- No DVI out (also none on my PB, but there is on new ones)
- White plastic instead of metal case.
- 0.3 pounds heavier, perhaps 1/2 inch thicker.
- 10 GB smaller hard drives
- Plastic probably more impact resistant than metal (but also leads to case being thicker).
- $500 more for PowerBook.
So overall, a tradeoff. I'm still as happy as ever with my 12" PB, but now more people can buy most of what I've got, and while that makes it a little less exclusive, that's really a good thing...
Enable 3D printed prosthetics!
Well, as a student, I find having a laptop makes a huge difference in the amount of work I get done. My situation is a bit specialized -- I'm a grad student, and I work as a DBA 30 hrs/wk and take 6 credit hours (this is considered full-time in grad school, although I'd say it's more like 3/4 time) at locations that are fairly far apart. One machine -- my iBook -- serves as my sole computer for work, home, and school. I really like having everything accessible to me, all the time.
The iBook (mine is a 700 MHz G3, a little dated now) is a wonderful machine, and it handles every demand work and school can throw at it. Having the Unix command line accessible at a click is indispensable for both locations. The GUI part of OS X is absurdly easy to use and very powerful; if you're used to XP or any of the common Linux desktops, it will take you about a day to get comfortable with it and a month or two to get over the "I didn't know it could do that! OMFG, that's so cool!" reaction. I'd say that if you buy one of the G4 iBooks, you'll feel that your money was well spent.
Any caveats? Well, yeah. You probably want to spend a little extra on the 3-year AppleCare plan. With luck you'll never need it, but let's face it, life is rough on laptops. And unless you shoot your laptop, give it to your dog as a chewtoy, or drop it in salt water, AppleCare will take care of anything that's likely to go wrong. And, of course, as always, spend every penny you can on boosting the RAM; the default is never enough. But I think you can do all of the above and still stay within your $1,300 limit -- and you'll have a machine that no similarly-priced PC laptop can touch.
The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
Perhaps you speak of the newer IBM Thinkpads that were basically designed and built in Taiwan by Acer. However, the Thinkpads that were IBM-designed and built in IBM-owned facilities *are* that tough.
I just plunked down three bills to get myself an off-lease 600E. The thing is *built*. The finish is completely coated in a rubberized coating so that even french-fry fingers won't slip. It seems to be made with a metal frame and plastic shell over the metal. Even though the thing only weighs 5 pounds, it feels very, very solid. (Yeah, I know there are much lighter lappies out there but this is the lightest one I have ever owned.)
Oh yeah...this is the only IBM Thinkpad that Big Blue took the trouble to get Linux certified. Here's a link to an old /. article about it.. The big gripe in the article was about how everything but the modem worked. Guess what: IBM did write and release Linux drivers for the MWave modem in this model! It took them a while, but they are out there now.
You can get 600Es cheap at Computer Geeks and at other places that sell off-lease Thinkpads...I suspect the reason why they are all over the place now is because they were popular around the apex of the Dot-bomb boom, and now there's a glut because so many of the folks who were carrying those around are now baristas at Starbucks. ^_^
Oh yeah, to pull this back on topic: the only thing built tougher than a Thinkpad is a PowerBook. Ph33r the mighty Wallstreet/Lombard/Pismo...those are tough mofos. Same with the iToiletSeat iMacs...those were designed with K-12 students in mind, just like the legendary eMate NewtonOS device. Even the old 100-series PowerBooks are tough as nails. And everyone I know with an Ice iBook has stories of how durable their iBook is.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
If you're an apple user, chances are good the girls *AND* the guys want to be with you.
O:-)
hehehe
When in doubt, parenthesize. At the very least it will let some poor schmuck bounce on the % key in vi. (Larry Wall)
this is a great point. for one, apple could never substantially increase their share without dramatically changing their structure. i was an econ major, not business, but i know a a little about vert/horiz integration and economic scalability. apple is a "niche" player. to be able to compete with the dell $799 un-inspiron or the best buy special o' the week, they would have to cut back on what makes them a "mac". then they are not different, and they cannot compete, because they can't scale that high. so, they are better off being where they are. if they change, they don't compete, they die. great point.
My problem? I was perfectly gruntled, until some numbnuts came by and dissed me.
This is too little, too late for Apple. They're dying, and everyone sees it except the Mac users themselves.
This is a funny statement. I'm not entirely sure why. It's something like a Roman Centurion around 200 AD saying "Christianity is dying. I mean, why shell out for one god when you can have a whole pantheon, and with significantly fewer commandments to follow!"
Hey freaks: now you're ju
having just recieved my 900 MHz G3 iBook in the mail 4 days ago, I was pretty pissed to see that Apple unveiled a new line of iBooks.
However, I called Apple, and it turned out I qualified for some kind of price protection. I am not allowed to return my iBook and get a new one (since my iBook was "custom built" by having extra RAM and an Airport card added), but they are going to credit my Visa $190.
Hope this helps anyone else who just bought an iBook. CALL APPLE!!! they may have some money for you....
If you look at the "Technical Specifications" page for the new iBooks, you'll notice there is NO mention of the "Velocity Engine". Same for the new "G4" eMac.
Any other Technical Specifications page for any other "G4" Apple offers, they say "with Velocity Engine".
I am afraid the iBook and eMac may not *have* a "Velocity Engine", or Apple would advertise it, wouldn't they ? These might be IBM chips, but they are not IBM chips with "Altivec". They may be "G4" in name only, i.e. we're marketing guys, we're willing to call it "G4" just because it's over 800 Mhz... this totally sucks if it's the case. I hope I'm wrong and Apple updates the Tech Specs to include mention of Velocity Engine, but I am afraid that Apple might have just stooped to the level of other hardware companies here.